OMD Saidhttp://omdsaid.com
Wed, 13 Dec 2017 01:27:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.1In-Scope: Welcome To The Era Of Chatting To A Machinehttp://omdsaid.com/in-scope-welcome-to-the-era-of-chatting-to-a-machine/
http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-welcome-to-the-era-of-chatting-to-a-machine/#respondWed, 13 Dec 2017 01:08:05 +0000http://omdsaid.com/?p=6443Aleksia Dobrich is a Social Manager in OMD Word, navigating the world of social influence and emerging communications platforms.

The communications landscape is constantly growing and changing thanks to technology driving machine developments. One space where this is becoming more dominant is within social media marketing where brands are relying more on artificial intelligence to drive consumer conversations. Yes, that’s right, we are talking about the buzz topic of the moment, developments in chatbots and why brands should be using them in their 2018 marketing strategy.

As ADWEEK1 stated, chatbots are automated messaging machines that effectively and efficiently interact with consumers. Chatbots are the latest e-commerce tool that have been specifically developed to enable consumers to interact with the machine as though they were talking to another human. They key to this is to use natural language and break down the barriers between human and machine.

Now why should brands incorporate a chatbot within their 2018 marketing strategy? Here’s a quick checklist to answer why.

Growth of instant messaging platforms

It is no secret that instant and direct messaging is growing, all you need to do is look at the apps that are currently installed on your phone. What’s interesting is that while instant messaging is growing due to the normalisation of messaging as a primary communication method, other mediums, such as the web, are declining4. Ubisend5 summed this up perfectly by demonstrating that the big 4 messaging apps, Facebook Messenger, WeChat, Viber and WhatsApp, have surpassed the big 4 social networking apps, Twitter, LinkedIn Facebook and Instagram, with their active monthly users.

As previously written on OMD Said2, chatbots are here to become your new best friend. They read your messages, respond straight away and actually listen to you when you ask a question. The always on nature of these tools plays into changes in consumer behaviour. The attention span of consumers has decreased as they grow more impatient and want information instantly. Why not simplify your generic community management queries with an automated messaging tool and provide your audience with answers to their questions straight away without having to use manual man hours in the process? A fantastic example of this is Qantas’ Chatbot Concierge3 which personalises travel inspiration for each user.

With the right infrastructure, a chatbot can be easily scalable and engage multiple consumers simultaneously. What does this mean for your brand? It’s simple, the chatbot can interact with more people at the same time than a human community manager is able to. This means that your business can save time by running more efficiently and ensuring that your customers are replied to quickly and with the right information. A great example of this is ABC News’ Facebook Messenger chatbot which easily shares daily and breaking news updates to users. The automation of sharing news content allows multiple consumers to inquire about breaking news stories in a more timeline manner than manually sharing this content.

We are about to embark on the golden age of chatbots thanks to developments in machine technology. As consumers swarm to messaging apps, brands need to ensure that they have the right infrastructure in place to interact with their customers where they are in an instant manner. Why should brands incorporate a chatbot within their 2018 marketing strategy? It’s simple, they are always on and ready to interact with consumers, messaging apps are growing and are easily scalable. These automated messaging machines are an essential means for brands to provide convenience to a user and go far beyond a simple chat tool.

]]>http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-welcome-to-the-era-of-chatting-to-a-machine/feed/0In-Scope: The Elephant in the Roomhttp://omdsaid.com/in-scope-the-elephant-in-the-room/
http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-the-elephant-in-the-room/#respondThu, 07 Dec 2017 03:54:22 +0000http://omdsaid.com/?p=6434Hannah Carlos-Bertollo is an Account Executive in OMD Fuse Melbourne, helping clients deliver on their business challenges with content led decisions.

Did you know that Amazon’s workforce is now larger than the population of dozens of small countries?

The e-commerce retailer revealed that it employed 541,900 people at the end of the third quarter. That’s bigger than the populations of some 63 countries and territories around the world including the likes of Iceland, the Bahamas and Monaco.

With statistics like this, it’s easy to see why Amazon has been hyped as the catalyst to change Australian shopping behaviours as we know them.

So, now that Amazon has launched, just how scared should Australian retailers be, and is it really going to be as scary as we think?

To answer this, it is my opinion based on how other global markets have responded to Amazon, that Australian brands need to become more customer obsessed rather than trying to predict every move that this monumental company is going to make. Retailers now more than ever, need to look at how Amazon invest in their end customer, not just tactics on how to combat revenue loss.

Amazon is here. So, we need to start tackling the elephant in the room.

Data:

In the past, Australian retailers have been guilty of flooding their customer databases with frequent and unwanted offers.

Amazon avoids this ‘consumer annoyance’ with algorithms that target audiences with relevant ‘next based offers’, based on the previous product history or what ‘look alike’ segments have purchased. It’s smart and it works! They’re offering the customer what they are most likely to want. Add in the social media component and you have a powerful digital monster.

Keeping in mind that Amazon is the ‘The Everything Store’ the fight for the share screen will become more brutal than ever. With screen becoming smaller (mobile marketing first) and almost 80% of shoppers never going to page 2 on Google, brands will need to be in the prime real-estate if they want to be at the top of mind.

Australian retailers need to start unlocking their customer data to understand how they can grow or at best, maintain their share of screen. Using data to guide entertaining, personal, useful content and timely, non-promotional communications can work to connect and engage at an emotional level that will surprise and delight customers, making them more loyal and valuable – Amazon, or no Amazon. The price message can then be carefully woven in now that the data informs us is just right.

Brand:

Amazon live and breathe their values of customer and price. They always have their customer at the top of mind with their superior service and they have every product at affordable prices.

To attempt to combat these strengths Australian brands need to start thinking more about what they stand for, what their core values are and how they want to differentiate themselves in market.

With a firm value proposition, a clear point of difference and using the aforementioned data to tell them exactly what their customer wants, retailers can begin to communicate exactly why Australians should shop with them through every marketing message.

The likes of kikki.K and Mecca Cosmetics have built multi-layered value-based brands, complete with tribes of engaged, loyal customers who are not price-driven but around whom the product range has evolved. This is how Australian retail brands will take on the beast.

Brands who fail to invest in what they stand for will find themselves undifferentiated and undercut in price – a very tough spot to be.

Think Local:

Australian retailers have a head start as many of them have physical stores which have been successful in building strong relationships within local communities. Many know their customers, what they come in for and their first name’s.

With the massive evolution of retail that awaits, Australian retail brands will need to focus on these relationships even more, in the most genuine way possible, as Amazon just cannot compete with relationships.

Experts predict that Amazon Australia is likely to see a slower burn, because unlike other countries Australian’s have a limited knowledge of Amazon (unless they are Australian retailers of course). Therefore, brands need to tap into the human element on what drives that customer into their store while they have the advantage.

Reward programs, local area marketing (new store openings, special events, newly fitted out stores) and ‘click and collect’ messaging need to work across multiple channels and truly provide customers with ‘money can’t buy’ experiences that they won’t get elsewhere.

So, is your brand ready for the battle?

With Coles and The Iconic having the ability to deliver their goods to their customers in most cases on the same day, brands are already stepping up the challenge.

However, it’s going to take constant innovation, exceptional customer service and keeping up with digital marketing and what it has to offer to keep them ahead of the game.

I recently read an article in Adweek about how footwear brand Keds seeks to empower women as part of its ethos and marketing strategy. Their CMO said “It’s really important to be authentic when it comes to female empowerment. Ensuring that we are empowering other female entrepreneurs and this [collaborating with female designers] is another way to do it.”

Founded in 1916 Keds’ rubber soled sneakers were worn by Olympic soccer players and college athletes. In the 1940s they released ‘Kedettes’ for women, a high heeled shoe with all the comfort of a sneaker! From the mid-eighties the original canvas rubber soled sneaker caught the eye of elementary school girls and teens through to 20-year olds on college campuses. Yoko Ono even wore a pair on her weeding day! Keds really have been ‘Ladies first since 1916’; female empowerment is so much a part of their brand it’s in their tag line.

Fast-forward to today – women are absolutely woven into the fabric of their brand, as well as promoting the new styles and ranges to women, they’re also ensuring that they are championing women throughout the process. While still partnering with big brands like Disney and Kate Spade, they have dedicated lines from their initiative Ladies for Ladies, which are created from exclusive collaborations with female designers and entrepreneurs.

That got me thinking about other brands that have taken a leap into the female empowerment space, some larger global beauty brands for example, and the difference between their approaches.

A few of the big global players have run campaigns around real and authentic beauty. While the initiative is great and these high production, hit-you-right-in-the-feels ads are saying all the right things, the sentiment just doesn’t quite ring true. The companies are telling us to love the skin we’re in while also telling us, we need buy multiple different products to keep our skin smooth and blemish free and our hair soft and frizz-free. The female empowerment angles of their campaigns seem, to me, contrived, unauthentic and even retrofitted purely because women are their main target audiences.

I am all for brands taking on big social issues and being more responsible in their marketing messaging, but looking at the different types of campaigns in the market, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the movement must fit the brand. It must be a part of their ethos and values to effectively sell me the message, and ultimately, the product.

This is something the OMD Fuse team pride ourselves on, we look for the human truth in every recommendation we make. Including when seeking talent or influencers for partnerships opportunities, we ensure that they’re the right fit. When a partnership doesn’t feel right, whether it’s obvious or if it’s more subtle, it can affect the way consumers think about brands. Researching this topic has made it even more clear to me the power of partnership authenticity and the strength that comes from a joint venture that feels real and is something I now feel even more confident recommending to our clients.

]]>http://omdsaid.com/brand-campaigns-and-female-empowerment/feed/0Radio Survey Results #7http://omdsaid.com/radio-survey-results-7-3/
http://omdsaid.com/radio-survey-results-7-3/#respondWed, 15 Nov 2017 00:00:55 +0000http://omdsaid.com/?p=6405It’s the seventh radio survey for the year, and our OMD Radio Survey Dream Team have put together the following summary:

Sydney

2GB’s was once again the top station in Survey 7 across P10+ M-F BMAD, despite a 8% decrease SOS. KIIS 1065 have emerged as the #2 station, with an 4% increase SOS.

KIIS 106.5 with Kyle and Jackie O was yet again the #1 station in Survey 7 for Breakfast across P16-39 & P25-54. Across both demos, the position for #2 station remains tightly contested.

Nova 96.9’s drive show with Kate, Tim and Marty is the #1 show across P16-39 and P25-54, with SOS increases of 15% and 12% respectively.

Melbourne

HIT’s 101.9 FM breakfast show Fifi, Fev & Byron have overtaken 3AW as football came to a close coming in as the most popular Melbourne commercial breakfast radio station against TTPL – remaining steady SOS and up +9% YOY.

3AW continue to hold the #1 spot against TTPL in the drive battle despite declining -10% SOS and -8% YOY. 101.9 FM continues to hold second place remaining steady
SOS.

101.9 FM again took out the #1 spot in the drive time slot against P25-54 slightly increasing by +4% SOS. GOLD 104.3 FM has come in at 2nd place increasing +41% SOS and +62% YOY against P25-54.

Brisbane

NOVA has dominated all demo’s in both Breakfast and Drive. They have seen huge growth up SOS in breakfast +12% for TTPL and +20% for P25-54.

During this survey period NOVA ran the successful Rock Pool Party competition in partnership with Diamonds International giving listeners the chance to dive for $20,000 worth of diamonds.

The only change was seen in P25-54 where HIT105 has taken TripleM’s place in both Breakfast and Drive and 97.3FM has jumped into the top 3 of Drive.

The market has still not entirely settled since Robin Bailey leaving 97.3FM and going to TripleM. Now it has just been announced Ed Kavalee won’t be returning to TripleM Breakfast, which could lead to another year of volatility.

Adelaide

The FIVEaa Breakfast Show with David Penberthy and Will Goodings delivered 26 share points (up +2% SOS), allowing the duo to hold their title as #1 Breakfast Show title against P10+ for the ninth consecutive survey.

Top spots for demos/day parts were held onto from Survey 6 winners, apart from HIT107 knocking NOVA 91.9 to second place in Breakfast and Drive against P16-39.

Mix102.3’s recent slide in the Adelaide radio ratings (TTPL) continued with a 0.4 percentage point fall to 21.98 overall audience share.

The fall, the third in a row for the station, still saw it beat NOVA91.9.

Perth

NOVA continue to dominate the Breakfast time slot across all 2017 Surveys against the key demographics, P25-54 and P16-39 with average audiences remaining strong.

Despite NOVA winning against all key demographics in Breakfast and Drive timeslots, MIX 94.5 pulled in the highest average audience against P10+ in BMAD up +6% SOS.

Hamish and Andy’s Drive show may no longer be resonating with audiences as we continue to see a decline in average audiences with Survey 7 down -21% against P10+ in BMAD. With Hughsey and Kate set to replace this iconic duo in 2018 as the new drive talents, we predict a slight audience uplift for HIT 92.9 next year.

One word. Angels. If you, like me, associate the brand Fiorucci with the little cherub angels that appeared on the front of many tween girl’s t-shirts in the 90’s, then boy are you in for a treat. This iconic brand that was never seen as ‘cool’ but rather seen as ‘sweet’, disappeared in a flash come the mid 2000’s, but now they are back baby. And wow, have they made a comeback. The question that many are asking is how, why and who is behind this revival? How has a brand that was once stocked only in Myer and bought by Mum’s for their daughters, come back in the form of skin-tight blue PVC pants, cut off mid-drifts and short shorts? Not to mention securing Georgia-May Jagger as their postergirl.

I first found out about Fiorucci’s comeback when I was scrolling through Instagram (surprise surprise) and came across this sleek, sexy, bright, all-round aesthetically pleasing, perfectly curated page that made me want more. Upon further investigation and more scrolling like a maniac, I came to discover that, OMG! This is THE Fiorucci. The Fiorucci that my primary school bestie used to constantly wear most weekends and the Fiorucci that I went on to tease her about still wearing in high school. Well that daggy angel shirt she used to wear is now being worn by the likes of Kendall Jenner and Gigi and Bella Hadid in 2017. So, what exactly has Fiorucci done so well to turn around their brand so successfully after being dormant for over a decade? And who are the geniuses behind this? More importantly, what can other brands learn from this brands success?

I recently attended an event in which Yasmin Sewell (renowned figure in the fashion world and all round legend) was speaking at, and I had the pleasure of asking her about Fiorucci’s comeback and her thoughts on how they got it so right? And her response was simple – timing. The owners saw an opportunity to buy and relaunch this brand with a strong brand strategy in place to ensure it would be successful from the very beginning. They carefully positioned the brand as youthful, wacky, resilient and feminine, with a hint of sexy carefreeness.

It goes without saying that I have become fascinated with this brands’ revival, so upon researching constantly and getting myself into many ‘Google rabbit holes’, I discovered that this brand wasn’t exactly the daggy younger cousin I once thought it was. It was launched way back in 1967 by Elio Fiorucci, where he began exporting London’s Swinging Sixties aesthetic to Italian customers. And would you believe, the pop art king himself Andy Warhol, set up Interview magazine in Fiorucci’s New York store in the 70’s. I guess it turns out that Fiorucci wasn’t the daggy cousin after all.

With all this in mind, the below points summarise what brands can learn from this iconic fashion brand’s revival:

Be hyper relevant. Fiorucci relaunched in the right place at the right time. Their relevance within today’s ever-changing landscape is key to their success. Not to mention the way the brand has adapted to meet new expectations.

Be agile. Fiorucci saw an opportunity to leap back into the market when they saw the right factors aligning. It’s clear that brand alignment to what is currently on trend (with the help of the rise of social media) is another key to success. Brands need to have the agility to make fast decisions based on cultural shifts. Or, they just need to be lucky. The saying goes “it’s better to be lucky than good” right?

Know your audience. Fiorucci know they are not a brand for everyone. They know exactly who their target audience is and they talk their language and only their language. If your audience respond well to visual language, then the key is to speak to them in visual language. But don’t undermine their intelligence!

Be inclusive. Learn to be part of their world. Be present in environments they trust, respect and connect with. What do you stand for in their lives? If you’re leveraging one of their passions you must have a reason for being there.

Have the ability to influence. Don’t just provide a service or a product. Strong brands influence all aspects of consumers lifestyles. They want to be sold ideas, not images. Consider; technology, food, the world and its cultures.

]]>http://omdsaid.com/the-fiorucci-revival-and-how-brands-can-learn-from-this-comeback-kid/feed/0Radio Survey Results #6http://omdsaid.com/radio-survey-results-6-3/
http://omdsaid.com/radio-survey-results-6-3/#respondFri, 06 Oct 2017 02:02:42 +0000http://omdsaid.com/?p=6322It’s the sixth radio survey for the year, and our OMD Radio Survey Dream Team have put together the following summary:

Sydney

2GB’s was once again the top station in Survey 6 across P10+ M-F BMAD. WSFM also maintains a steady #2 position with a +9% SOS across P10+ M-F BMAD. This is a result of Jonesy & Amanda’s strong numbers in the breakfast show.

KIIS 106.5 with Kyle and Jackie O was yet again the #1 station in Survey 6 for Breakfast across P16-39 & P25-54, however it is worth noting that there were no notable increases in listenership from Survey #5.

104.9 Triple M’s audience numbers have grown significantly SOS (+66% P16-39) This is due to the breakfast show with The Grill Team and their coverage of the footy finals last month.

Melbourne

Nova’s Smooth FM drive show with Byron Webb has been crowned as the most popular Melbourne commercial drive radio station against TTPL – up +17% SOS and 29% YOY.

Smooth FM’s win against TTPL in the drive battle has seen Fox FM’s popular duo Hamish and Andy fall to second place, possibly due to their inconsistent radio schedule breaks.

Nova’sKate Ritchie, Tim Blackwell and Marty Sheargold lost their second place title in the drive battle (TTPL) as they dropped -9% from the last survey with their sister station Smooth picking up the slack up +17% SOS.

Brisbane

NOVA has dominated all demo’s in both Breakfast and Drive. They have seen huge growth up SOS in breakfast +13% for TTPL, +11% for P16-39 and +15% for P25-54.

During this survey period NOVA ran the Red Room in LA with Harry Styles, which could be a contributing factor, though this only ran for 2 weeks, and was a national competition.

Triple M saw growth and are up +14% SOS in breakfast for P16-39, still not enough to take out NOVA coming in at a distant 3rd.

Triple M were a close 2nd with +39% SOS in Drive for P25-54

Overall the market has remained steady with most change occurring in the P25-54 demo.

Adelaide

Top spots for demos/day parts were held onto from the Survey 5 winners, apart from NOVA91.9 knocking Hit107 to second place in Drive for P16-39.

5AA saw an increase of +10% from Survey 5 in Drive against all key demos and up +13% against P16-39 for this time slot YOY as the AFL finals series featured two Adelaide teams.

MIX102.3 have bumped Triple M off second spot in the Breakfast time slot against P10+ seeing an increase of +15% SOS, with Jodie & Soda the drivers behind this increase.

Perth

NOVA have once again won all 3 demos for Breakfast in Survey 6, with their Drive show just falling short against P16-39 despite the slot being up +5% SOS.

HIT 92.9’s breakfast line up of Heidi, Will and Woody looks to be falling flat with their share down -18% against P16-39 and -12% against P25-54. Despite not taking out a place in the top 3 against the key demos, 96FM Hughesy and Kate’s Drive show seems to be resonating well with the older audiences, having an increase of +18% against P25-54 SOS almost closing in on HIT92.9.

These are some of the frequent questions we hear from our clients; and in a content-first eco-system it’s becoming more important than ever for brands to ensure they are creating content that connects, adds value, has relevance, is discoverable and therefore cuts-through their audience’s share of attention.

With just 5% of online content accounting for 90% of engagement; it’s up to us as marketers to ensure we are implementing a data-led strategy when it comes to content.

Let’s just clarify one thing first; I would never discredit intuitive ideas, the ones that come from gut feel alone. These ideas have made some of the best taglines (Nike’s ‘Just do It’) and most awarded campaigns in history, but today we face a real challenge of content shock and storytelling overload – impacting brand cut-through and the level of consumer connection – therefore, content must be intelligent; it must be a combination of data and heart if we wish to succeed.

But what is the perfect ratio of Art and Science? 70/30 or 50/50?

Now as I begin my journey around this secret sauce, the recipe for the right balance of art and science; I think it’s important to note that I don’t believe there is such a sweet spot that can be applied as an umbrella methodology to each brand or category. For example, various tech companies operate to a 70/30 model; 70 of science and 30 of art given their wealth of rich consumer and sales data. However, for an FMCG client we tend to see this shift to a 50/50 model – illustrating that while there isn’t a one shoe fits all approach, there will always be a role for Art working with Science when it comes to content marketing – both need to work together to create successful content strategies. So, for us, let’s call this secret sauce ‘Intelligent Content Solutions’ (ICS).

Both Art and Science are needed for great Content Marketing.

The Art, or as I label it; the qualitative why behind the dataenables us to create a deeper and more meaningful connection with our brands and their audience. The art is our heart, it taps into emotions, and experiences, and it allows us to empathise with our audience. It’s the tone, the creative language and the visuals needed to connect, it’s how we create the story.

In my role, as a content analyst I must understand what my audience consumes and what they engage with, how content makes them feel and how it motives them, and what their interests are and what they say.

So then, on to the science…

The science is what I refer to asthe what, it’s quantitative, it’s data-driven and enables us to make data-informed decisions and to recognise informed opportunities and gaps; it’s creating strategies that are based on fact. It’s a process of analysing data and creating intelligent insights. The science is the data and analytics, it’s the metrics and it involves benchmarks, testing and measuring current and retrospective learnings.

You need the data to measure progress and performance but also to optimise. Data ensures we increase precision and accuracy.

It’s also important to recognise the role of technology and sophisticated platforms, however, this is the enabler and not the intelligence.

So, let’s further explore this collaboration of methodologies. There is still that role for the gut feel and intuitive content, however ideas and stories must now be accountable.

The art brings to life the data analytics, it combines the why with the what. Without the input of each, both art and science falls short. Together this collaboration creates intelligent content that drives connection, action and ultimately revenue for brands.

The key is collaboration.

My biggest learning throughout my time at OMD has been not only the collaboration between these two approaches but the collaboration between brains and people; creating a symphony that is revolutionising the creative process.

Now let’s take this lens further inside the walls of OMD. We have established a team of content experts from various facets of the business. Together this collaboration sees many data points coming together to create intelligent content solutions for our brands. Myself, bringing the why from qualitative Social Listening that allows the team to understand prescribed behaviours: what our audience resonates with, what they’re interested in and what they are saying (this is the heart); combined with Search Data where the team provides the what, and the actual behaviours, also testing and measuring hard metrics from historical data and learnings. This wealth of intelligent insight is then taken by our Social and Content strategists who then build intelligent, data-informed content and distribution strategies that are continually optimised based on both art and science.

In a key case study (whose brand name is safe-harboured, unfortunately), the ‘ICS’ team provided a strategic recommendation that was Insights based, Social and Search Verified; to help our client navigate and better optimise their online content strategy. Our integrated intelligence, informed content topic creation, but also identified what existing content assets and creative should be optimised based on audience interest, whilst providing data-led recommendations for paid distribution strategies, and best-practice recommendations for optimisation’s and re-targeting strategies.

From aconsumer search perspective,our team pulled data and analytics surrounding keywords to identify key trends and patterns, as well as seasonality drivers. We also analysed the user journey – identifying key targeting and re-targeting opportunities, and analysed content performance based on tags and trackers. From a consumer Social Listening perspective, this enabled us to understand shifts in conversations, how key themes, news or stories impacted seasonality, consumer perceptions towards brand and competitive content, whilst also identifying audience appetite for content; ultimately, understanding what key themes and topics would have resonance.

Another key example of Intelligent Content success, from this ‘ICS’ team was the marrying of Search with Social Listening to create the Ready for Take Off TV Show, a behind the scenes look into the world of Qantas. Social Listening learnings were used for character selection and to help develop the storyline, combined with Search data which enabled us to understand actual search behaviours including the most searched questions. This allowed us to work out the correct balance of drama, to human interest stories and to mechanical/factual-information. Bringing the heart together with the data, allowed us to understand audience resonance and apply data-led key learnings to inform creative optimisations.

The same data points also helped to create a Social and Digital content and distribution strategy for Ready for Take Off.

Other clients who have sought-after Intelligent Content, have come to the ICS team in order to use this ‘modern’ Content Methodology to provide strategic recommendation in regard to: identifying opportunities and gaps within the content funnel, refreshing topics and themes based on audience resonance, syndication and influencer integrations and partnerships, paid media distribution strategies, and Content Optimisations.

Kirsten Newbold-Knipp, Research Director at Gartner states, “there is a need to hone the craft of customer-centric storytelling, and build the skill, technology, and governance for real-time delivery of relevant content audiences will actually consume and find useful”. Content must be intelligent; it must be a combination of data and heart if we wish to succeed.

Further case studies to be presented in further workshops within the agency.

“All screens are not created equal and frankly neither are impressions”

Val Morgan’s overall tactic for the 2018 upfronts was to position cinema as a brand safe environment. Given this has been a hot topic of conversation in the market this year around the digital space, they were right on trend in addressing this and highlighting cinema as a medium that can deliver a client’s message in a safe, highly engaged setting, something that their recently released research piece “The Halo Effect” by Kantar Millward Brown, supported.

With wall-to-wall screens and surround sound in a darkly lit environment, cinema offers an immersive and high sensory experience. Therefore, advertising content is processed more consciously, yielding results such as 95% retention rate at a frequency of 1.5 compared to display advertising which yields a 75% weekly retention rate at a frequency of 10.

Whilst we are becoming a society that is increasingly viewing content on small devices and personalised screens, more traditional mediums such as TV and cinema are now reminding us how powerful big screens are. ThinkTV pointed out their ReThink TV conference last month, as did Val Morgan at their Upfronts, that “the big screen is difficult to ignore therefore size really does matter”. Competing in an evolving and increasingly digital landscape, Val Morgan wanted to remind us how they fit into the media environment, their point of difference, and what they have to offer.

Moving forward, they will be rolling out 250 news screens across Australia over the next 3 years. With new screens and enhancements to existing cinemas, Val Morgan are on a mission to create an environment which fosters deeper experiences for consumers such as VJunior, Australia’s first cinema for kids. Exclusive to Village Cinemas in Melbourne, VJunior features new release family films with modified volume and lighting levels plus an intermission for selected sessions, beanbag or reclined lounge seats and a slide and an interactive play area where children can play for 30 minutes prior to the film starting. This environment allows for advertisers to be more targeted than ever before and provide a unique experience for selected audiences. They are also bringing back old favourites such as Chicks at the Flicks and Moonlight Cinema, giving more opportunities to our clients

To make access easier to agencies in 2018 Val Morgan will be introducing the launch of their automated buying system which will allow for seamless transactions and will allow speed to screen, with clients able to go live within 24 hours onto the national network. This has been a barrier for some clients in the past, with Val Morgan developing their back end to address this. No date has been set as of yet however we hope that the automation will not only allow for speed but will also allow for more robust and real-time post analysis of a campaign.

Val Morgan also announced that they will be coming to market next year with a data management platform (DMP). As media planning and buying continues to change with data now being a key component of initial idea, activation and channel planning, Val Morgan’s intention is to create a rich layer of audience understanding to bring cinema closer into the consideration circle for people buying premium video. Data providing gender, age, where they live, where they shop and broader habits on their preferences will be available in the near future, with a date yet to be set.

Quite frankly irrespective of all these great insights and strategies for 2018, what Val Morgan need are bums on seats in the cinemas, with content in the pipeline really important to them. With great content and blockbuster films driving their audience, the more people that go to the cinema, the more eyeballs available for our clients. The good news is that 2018 is set to deliver an array of promising films targeting a range of cinema goers.

Before outlining the top picks for 2018 there are some notable films that are still yet to be released in 2017 which are expected to generate huge audiences and will lead to a predicted 3% increase on last year’s record audiences.

With over 550 movies releasing next year, 2018 stands to show some of the best content we’ve seen on screens yet. Big hitting key titles have been grouped into 4 categories with Superheros and Villians continuing to make up a large part of audiences and box office hits.

]]>http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-val-morgan-2018-upfronts/feed/0In-Scope: The Beauty of Artificial Intelligence in Social Media Marketinghttp://omdsaid.com/in-scope-the-beauty-of-artificial-intelligence-in-social-media-marketing/
http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-the-beauty-of-artificial-intelligence-in-social-media-marketing/#respondThu, 14 Sep 2017 05:30:47 +0000http://omdsaid.com/?p=6278Grace Green is an Account Executive in OMD Fuse Melbourne, helping clients deliver on their business challenges with content led decisions.

Artificial intelligence is revolutionising the way brands communicate with their consumers in social media marketing. Chatbots, augmented reality and the umbrella of artificial intelligence have reinvigorated the beauty industry. As beauty is a personalised industry, AI offers brands new ways to provide the one-on-one support received from staff in a bricks and mortar store to a consumer base that is moving further towards ecommerce.

Estee Lauder is at the cutting edge of providing the same high-level of customer service of an in-store experience through chatbots and augmented reality. In May this year, Estee Lauder partnered with Modiface to use augmented reality to allow consumers to try on different shades of lipstick from their new range. This was available within Facebook Messenger and accompanied by a chatbot which helped consumers select lipsticks based on colour preferences and skin tone.

Other brands which have successfully used chatbots to engage with younger consumers are Sephora and H&M using Kik Messenger, a Canadian instant messenger app popular with US teens. H&M built a chatbot that interacts with consumers to understand their personal taste in clothes and makes personalised recommendations from their current catalogue. Also using Kik, Sephora created a chatbot that offers personalised content such as product reviews and how-to guides based on interests and personal details the consumer shares with the chatbot; such as face shape and skin type. Every piece of content Sephora’s chatbot shares is also accompanied by a recommended product. These examples of chatbots take the personalisation of instore one-on-one interactions with staff and streamline it with the convenience of an instantaneous online experience.

There have been cautionary tales in the chatbot space, demonstrating the importance of a coherent strategy behind the use of a bot and an understanding of the current limitations of the technology. Some examples of the best uses of chatbots have been built on a strategy of improving the consumer experience, while other less successful strategies have lent on the ‘hype’ around AI, which has seen campaigns backfire and increase negative sentiment for brands. When designing a strategy around the use of a chatbot, it is important that brands focus on aligning the functionality of the technology with a positive campaign objective. The success of Estee Lauder’s use of a Chatbot can at least in part be attributed to having aligned the functional capability of a chatbot and AR with delivering high levels of personalisation and enhancing the online shopping experience.

Facebook received a lot of attention recently for their AI negotiation bot, which began negotiating in its own language. Despite cries of AI world take-over and smug nods from Elon Musk, this was decidedly more banal. Facebook simply ended the test after the bot became nonsensical. There have also been more positive developments within the AI space out of Facebook. Facebook recently purchased the AI start up, Ozlo, to reportedly support the development of ‘M’ their Messenger-based personal assistant. M first appeared in 2015 and has been rolled out to a small number of people for testing. The software uses AI to complete user requests, escalating them to real people if it can’t complete the task. M is now being rolled out on a larger scale. Instead of taking requests, M now suggests gifs, saying ‘happy birthday’ to a friend, or ordering an Uber based on the conversations within Messenger. At this point, M is only reminding you of many features that already exist within Messenger, however as the technology develops, this could become an essential feature for everyday users.

* Fingers crossed they follow through on the ‘M’ thing.

Messaging apps have over taken traditional social networking apps based on monthly active users. This trend towards the use of messaging apps presents an important opportunity for media agencies, publishers and brands to ensure they’re engaging in the most valuable social spaces. There are intricacies with advertising within messenger apps, as consumers trend to view these as more ‘private’ spaces. While this remains as an important consideration, it should not deter the use of AI and chatbots but be seen as an opportunity for creativity, innovation and personalisation.

]]>http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-the-beauty-of-artificial-intelligence-in-social-media-marketing/feed/0In-Scope: An Open Letter to Myselfhttp://omdsaid.com/in-scope-an-open-letter-to-myself/
http://omdsaid.com/in-scope-an-open-letter-to-myself/#respondTue, 12 Sep 2017 06:33:09 +0000http://omdsaid.com/?p=6271Kristie Asciak is Head of Fuse Sydney, helping clients deliver on their business challenges with content led decisions.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MYSELF

Dear Agency Me,

Now that you’ve settled into your new role in agency land, and before you get too used to being the oldest person in the room, I thought you should be reminded about a few things from the last 15 years you worked client side, so that it might serve you well in this next phase of your life.

You needed boundaries

Don’t ask, don’t get. Just like a toddler you would push boundaries. So even though you knew deep down you only had time for two edits to that creative, if it still wasn’t right you’d ask for more- even if it was your fault because you missed something the first time, and despite expired deadlines. Why? Because your focus was on a great end result and if you pushed miracles generally happened.

Now you’re on the other side don’t be afraid to hold your client to those requirements, but make sure you plan for them in a constructive way. Alert your clients ahead of time as they are approaching limits on revisions, costs or lead times. If your client is sitting on feedback chase them – even if it’s via an annoying SMS. You can bet that they would rather hear from you than tell their boss a deadline will be missed or quality impacted. They might even thank you for it.

You rarely ever looked at the fine print on a scope of work

Sure, for the big contracts you were across all the detail. But for an everyday production estimate? Your eyes just went straight to the dollars. So back to point 1, there were times when edits limits just didn’t even cross your mind.

So if the name of the game is management, be sure to highlight any hard line conditions that you are going to have to uphold or that may have presented as a problem in the past. Don’t assume the detail is read – cover yourself. But as I said before, do it ahead of time as last thing you want to do is back them into a corner.

And that reminds me, generally the one person who signed the agency contract didn’t necessarily work within it day to day. So partner with your senior clients to cascade contracts throughout their team, or induct new client’s team members so they are fully briefed as to what services are in scope.

A rate cut never meant a quality cut

This one is pretty simple; even when you negotiated a rate , you still expected the same quality of delivery. So now that you are on other side of the production estimate, before you agree to cut the paid hours in a job, understand that you’re probably still expected to deliver the same outcome. Either accept that fact, or don’t agree to it.

The opinions of your agency team mattered, even if you didn’t listen

Marketing is as much a science as an artform. You valued what your agency partners thought. It was consideration, debate and food for thought and even when you didn’t ask for their point of voice you appreciated it when they gave it.

So never stop giving your considered opinion. You’re a team with your client and have been hired because you can provide deeper expertise beyond that which a client, who needs to be more generalist in their knowledge, has the capacity to obtain. They may not agree with you every time, but then again, you’re working in an art form, and not a science.

Sometimes your hands were tied, even on the great ideas

To that end, don’t be too disheartened when great thinking gets knocked back. Sometimes not even your client will have the final say. From what you have experienced, agency land is more autonomous and has fewer reporting lines and stakeholders to take into consideration. In fact, even when you were Head of Marketing you had your own internal clients to service – the sales team, all with their own influence and voice and real sales targets to meet. You’re also now providing a recommendation on just one piece of the business puzzle and you might not be aware of how the other pieces fit.So try to be sympathetic when you get a “no” because sometimes that “no” is painful to deliver, and try to focus on understanding why for next time.

So there you have it. I hope this comes in handy. Good luck with everything and if you get yourself into trouble give me a call.